“Eat Your Veggies” was one of the many Wintermission courses in the school’s first schoolwide interdisciplinary program, running from January 24-27, taking the place of regularly-scheduled classes. The course, led by Stella Carey and James Minio, discussed the reasoning and rationale behind moving towards a plant-based diet.

“I wanted to do this course because I am very concerned about climate change and I think that diet is a way individuals can make a really powerful impact with pretty minimal changes. So I thought that plant-based eating was an excellent opportunity to be a ‘power for good,’” Carey said.

Although the course was focused on the importance of a plant-based diet, the class was majority meat-eaters, with only a few vegetarians and zero vegans. The class was not pushing or forcing a vegan onto the participants, but instead openly discussing the potential benefits of one.

Students publicly shared their reasons for why they agree or disagree with plant-based rhetoric and sentiment, which created a safe environment for students to grapple with the different aspects to consider when looking at their current diet compared to a plant-forward diet. Mia Vitale, a sophomore who took the course, said that she appreciates the non-pushy environment of the class. “As a pescatarian, I was worried that the course would be very forcing of veganism onto the class; however, that’s not at all what it was like,” she said.

The course was also highly engaging, with visits from dietitians and trips to an animal sanctuary. “I also really love animals, I love cooking and I love eating, so all of those things were able to fit into the course activities in a way that seemed like it would make for a fun few days,” Carey said. The course’s engaging nature was not a deliberate plan, but rather a product of the flexible and adaptable approach of the teachers. “When we were first designing the course I felt like we were given a blank slate, that is, we could really design any activities we could think of, so I just went with what sounded fun. For example, going out to eat at a restaurant: I had never thought of doing something like that as part of a class before, but it seemed to fit with our class goals so we went with it!” Carey said.